France: The left back in power

Latest update : 19/06/2012

François Hollande’s victory on May 6, 2012 marks the return of the French left to power, 17 years after François Mitterrand’s historic win in 1981. Hollande, who beat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy by 51.6% of the vote to 48.4%, came to power on a promise to tax the super rich, promote growth instead of austerity and create thousands of jobs in education. In a first symbolic gesture, the newly-named government led by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault voted to cut ministers’ salary by 30%.

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MEET FRANCE'S NEW GOVERNMENT

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, minister of women’s rights and government spokesperson
Moroccan-born Rhône councillor Najat Vallaud-Belkacem served as a spokesperson for both Ségolène Royal in 2007 and François Hollande in 2012.

Laurent Fabius, minister of foreign affairs
Laurent Fabius has been a fixture in French politics for the past 30 years. In 1984, at the age of 37, he became France's youngest-ever prime minister. Eight times elected to parliament, he has also served as finance minister and speaker of France's National Assembly.

Pierre Moscovici, minister of finance
A former supporter of shamed Socialist Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Pierre Moscovici, 54, served as minister for european affairs under Lionel Jospin’s government between 1997 and 2002. He started his political career as a member of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR).

Nicole Bricq, minister of foreign trade
A member of the French Senate, 64-year-old Nicole Bricq worked closely with Dominique Strauss-Kahn before he quit French politics to run the IMF. A specialist of both finance and environment, she is one of the surprise picks in President François Hollande’s government.

Manuel Valls, interior minister
Spanish-born Manuel Valls, a security and immigration specialist, is seen as a moderate in the Socialist Party. He ran in the party primary and then acted as Hollande’s campaign spokesperson. At 49, he has been mayor of Evry, an outer suburb of Paris, since 2001.

Christiane Taubira, minister of justice
A member of parliament for French Guiana, she was born in the South American territory in 1952. Her candidacy in the 2002 presidential election is thought to have contributed to the shock defeat of the former Socialist prime minister, Lionel Jospin.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, minister of defence
President of the regional council of Brittany, 64-year-old Jean-Yves Le Drian is a long-standing friend of Hollande. He served as secretary of state for maritime affairs in 1991-1992.

Jérôme Cahuzac, minister of budget
A senior advisor on budgetary matters and head of the parliamentary finance committee, Jérôme Cahuzac is thought of as the Socialist Party’s financial expert despite having trained as a plastic surgeon. He is currently both an MP and mayor in central France.

Aurélie Filippetti, minister of culture
A Green Party member before joining the Socialists to support Ségolène Royal in 2006, Aurélie Filippetti has been MP for the northeastern constituency of Moselle since 2007. She was in charge of cultural topics as part of Hollande’s campaign team.

Michel Sapin, minister of work
Member of parliament for the central constituency of Indre, Michel Sapin is a key economics advisor to Hollande and very close to the president, whom he has known since their youth. He has served under three former prime ministers.

Fleur Pellerin, minister of innovation
South Korea-born Fleur Pellerin has never been elected to office but works as a government official. She worked on new technology as part of Hollande’s campaign team and has called for digital development in France.

Vincent Peillon, minister of education
A trained philosophy teacher, Vincent Peillon served as Ségolène Royal’s spokesperson during her presidential campaign in 2007. He was in charge of education during Hollande’s campaign for the presidency.

Arnaud Montebourg, minister of industry and growth
Trained as a lawyer, 49-year-old Arnaud Montebourg is a fierce anti-globalisation campaigner. After coming third in the Socialist Party primary, he chose to back Hollande over run-off rival Martine Aubry. He’s deputy of the eastern constituency of Saône-et-Loire.

Marisol Touraine, minister of health
Deputy of Indre-et-Loire, 53-year-old Marisol Touraine is also a member of the committee for social affairs at the National Assembly. She was in charge of social protection within the PS.

Cécile Duflot, minister of housing
Leader of France’s Green Party (EELV), 37-year-old Cécile Duflot, a town planner by profession, rallied behind Hollande in the second round of France’s presidential election after her party’s candidate, Eva Joly, picked up a mere 2.3% of the vote in the first round.

Stéphane Le Foll, minister of agriculture
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2004, 52-year-old Stéphane Le Foll worked as François Hollande’s shadow cabinet leader during the latter’s time as Socialist Party chief between 1997 and 2008.